For years, physicists and science-fiction writers have speculated about whether parallel universes might exist alongside our own. I’m certainly not qualified to get into the domain of theoretical physics, but I can testify that when it comes to higher education, there are parallel universes existing right here in Michigan: Universe One has to do with the […]
Phil's Column
Phil Power is the founder and chairman of the Center for Michigan.
Posted inPhil's Column
Battle lines being drawn in Michigan
I’m not sure how many people realize it yet, but … This year is clearly shaping up to be one of the most fiercely partisan in Michigan political history — and I’m not even talking about any of the races involving candidates. Completely apart from the personalities, it seems likely that there will be two […]
Posted inPhil's Column
Smoke-filled rooms beat robocalls
Well, the votes are in; the millions spent on TV ads and the candidates have moved on. But when you survey the results of the Michigan Republican primary election, all I can say is: “Bring back the smoke-filled room!” That’s not because of the way things turned out. What bothers me are all the evils […]
Posted inPhil's Column
A plan to curb carp, before it's too late
Since the St. Lawrence Seaway opened in 1959, the Great Lakes have been locked in an unhealthy marriage with the Atlantic Ocean and the rest of the world. Before then, the Great Lakes had evolved over the millennia their own ecosystem, physically separated from invasion by non-native species. But once oceangoing freighters could take on […]
Posted inPhil's Column
Pressure mounts on Michigan's K-12 schools
There was a lot of education news last week — much of it grim, and all of it indicating that this state needs to make big changes. Pronto. First of all, The Education Trust-Midwest, a statewide policy organization, released a new report that showed academic achievement among Michigan’s higher-income and white students has declined when compared […]
Posted inPhil's Column
Big bucks silence views of ordinary folks
Surprise! Would you believe that … political systems are stacked in favor of those with money? That’s probably been true since the days of the pharaohs, if not before. But these days, two things make the normal much worse in our country: First, the U.S. Supreme Court, in the Citizens United case, essentially ruled two […]
Posted inPhil's Column
Michigan's surrounded — and it's a good thing
Business Leaders for Michigan, a group of some of the state’s most progressive, far-seeing corporate chiefs, has released a new 2012 Michigan Turnaround Plan – and it’s worth checking out. It lays out a far-reaching, long-term agenda that Michigan’s leading CEOs say would create nearly 500,000 jobs and increase per-capita incomes by $18,000 within 10 […]
Posted inPhil's Column
Learning still starts at home
Over the years, I’ve been a big admirer of Rochelle Riley’s columns in the Detroit Free Press: Last Friday, she had a particularly valuable piece concerning the Detroit Parent Network, which is developing parent resource centers and connecting parents with those who teach their children. “The result is that a third more parents attended parent-teacher […]
Posted inPhil's Column
Michigan college cost dilemma bankrupts all
I’ve been observing Michigan public policy discussions for nearly 50 years. It’s amazing that, so often, it’s as though people with differing views live in two different universes. Take Michigan universities. Analysis presented last week in Bridge showed costs at Michigan public universities are higher than the average at comparable schools around the country and […]
Posted inPhil's Column
Michigan is turning students into beggars
For more than a decade, Michigan’s elected officials have imposed what amounts to a severe tax on the hundreds of thousands of students who attend our public universities. The consequences of this “college user tax” – clearly amounting to millions of dollars per year – include raising the cost bar for young Michiganders to attend […]